Perseus. By the machinations of the latter he was consigned to the custody of one of Philip's generals, Didas, who privately put him to death, at the age of twenty-six.—S. D.
DEMETRIUS II., succeeded his father on the throne of Macedon, 239 b.c. he cultivated friendly relations with the tyrants of the different cities in the Peloponnesus, in opposition to the Achæan league; and engaged in a war with the Ætolians. It is said that he was defeated with great loss by the Dardanians, a tribe on the frontier of Macedon. He reigned ten years.—S. D.
DEMETRIUS I., king of Syria, surnamed Soter, son of Seleucus IV. He made his escape privately, and landed in Phenicia where the Syrians declared in his favour, and succeeded in obtaining the acknowledgment of his sovereignty by the Romans. Soon after he displeased the Romans still more by expelling Ariarathes from Cappadocia, to substitute a creature of his own. After this Balas, protected by the Romans, aided by Attains, Ariarathes, and Ptolemy Philometor, as well as by the Jews, defeated Demetrius in a pitched battle, 150 b.c. His reign lasted eleven years.—S. D.
DEMETRIUS II., king of Syria, surnamed Nicator. After the death of his father he did not immediately venture to return from his place of exile, till Balas became odious to his subjects. With a body of mercenaries he landed in Cilicia in 148 b.c., and defeated Balas. Being now settled in the kingdom, Demetrius abandoned himself to gross vice and barbarous acts of cruelty. Tryphon, son of Alexander Balas, now put in his claim to the throne. Demetrius retired before him, was defeated by the Parthians whom he had attacked, and himself made prisoner, 138 b.c. The Parthian monarch sent him into Hyrcania, where he lived in luxury. He subsequently got possession of his former throne, having been in captivity for ten years from 138-128 b.c. He was murdered at Tyre while trying to escape by sea, 125 b.c.—S. D.
DEMETRIUS III., king of Syria, surnamed Eucærus. When war broke out between him and his brother Philip, the governor of Berœa shut him up in his camp, where he was compelled to surrender. Mithridates, king of Parthia, to whom he was sent as a prisoner, treated him liberally. He died in captivity about 86 b.c.—S. D.
DEMETRIUS, Cydonius, was born either at Byzantium or in Thessalonica in the fourteenth century. He appears to have been a favourite of the emperor, Joannes Cantazucenus, who conferred high honours upon him, and both entered the same monastery in 1355. He afterwards repaired to Milan and devoted himself to the study of Latin and theology. The year of his death is not known. It must have been after 1384, when Manuel Palæologus ascended the throne of Constantinople. His works consist of epistles, orations, treatises, &c.—S. D.
DEMETRIUS, Phalereus, was born at the Demos of Phalerus, 345 b.c., whence he was called Phalereus. He was educated along with the poet Menander in the school of Theophrastus. His talents as an orator soon brought him into notice. After the death of Phocion in 317, Cassander placed him over the administration of Athens, which office he filled for ten years. The Athenians, to mark their gratitude, honoured him with great distinctions. It was only during the latter part of his administration that he became less scrupulous in his conduct. A party was therefore formed against him; and on the approach of Demetrius Poliorcetes to Athens, he had recourse to flight. The fickle people now passed sentence of death upon him. He repaired to Thebes and thence to Ptolemy Lagi at Alexandria, with whom he lived on the most friendly terms. It seems probable that he was librarian in Egypt over that collection of books which became so famous afterwards; and it is reported that he had to do with the origin of the Septuagint version. The successor of Lagi sent him into exile to Upper Egypt, where he is said to have died of the bite of a serpent soon after 283 b.c. The talents of Demetrius were very varied, and his acquirements extensive. Not only was he an orator, but a practical statesman, a philosopher, and a poet. His numerous works have all perished. Diogenes Laertius gives a list of them.—S. D.
DEMIDOFF, a noble Russian family distinguished for their immense wealth, and no less for the useful and benevolent purposes to which it has been applied. The founder of the family was a serf named Nitcita or Nikita, who lived at Tula about the close of the seventeenth century. He left his native village to avoid being taken as a recruit; and having been originally a blacksmith, became famous for his skill in the manufacture of small arms, and established in 1699 the first foundry in Siberia. His abilities attracted the notice of Peter the Great, who named him imperial commissary, and ultimately granted him letters of nobility.—His son, Akinfi, and his grandson, Nikita, discovered the celebrated gold and silver mines in the Ural Mountains, but kept their discovery a secret, until they had made sure that they would be allowed by the government to work the mines to their own profit. The Demidoff family have for some time displayed a most praiseworthy liberality in promoting the interests of literature and science.—Paul Demidoff, who died in 1826, in his eighty-eighth year, formed a rich cabinet of natural history, which he ultimately bestowed on the university of Moscow, and also founded a chair in that seminary. In addition to this he established a botanic garden, and the Demidoff lyceum at Yaroslav.—Nikolay Nikitch Demidoff, nephew of Paul, was distinguished for his taste both in the fine arts and in science. He possessed a valuable gallery of paintings, and formed a cabinet of natural history, which he presented to the university of Moscow. He raised a regiment at his own expense in 1812, and led it in person against the French. He was the author of several treatises, which have been collected into one volume, under the title "Opuscules d'Economie politique et privée." He died at Florence in 1828.—His son, Paul, who did not long survive him, founded a prize of five thousand rubles a year, to be awarded by the Academy of Sciences to the author of the most important and useful work in Russian literature.—J. T.
DEMIDOFF or DEMIDOV, Anatol, Count, of the same family as the preceding, was born at Florence about the year 1810. Possessed of immense wealth, he distinguished himself by his profusion and magnificence, and was not wanting in that spirit of active philanthropy which has characterized so many members of his family. His "Voyage dans la Russie Méridionale et la Crimée, par la Hongrie, la Valachie, et la Moldavie," was published at Paris in 1839. An English translation appeared at London in 2 vols., 8vo, in 1853. These volumes, which were partly written by some of the companions of his travels, contain an admirable account of Sebastopol, Kertch, and Eupatoria. In 1840 Demidoff was married to the Princess Matilda de Montfort, daughter of Prince Jerome Bonaparte, and of Princess Catherine of Würtemberg. The discovery of the fact that, in the contract of marriage, it was stipulated that all the children should be educated in the Roman catholic faith, excited much indignation in Russia. Demidoff was summoned to St. Petersburg to answer for himself before the Emperor Nicholas. His explanation allayed the wrath of the czar. The marriage, however, produced no children; and what is termed an incompatibility of disposition, brought about its dissolution by mutual consent in 1845. The Russian emperor, who happened to be in Italy at the time, fixed the princess' allowance at two hundred thousand rubles a year. The Count Anatol Demidoff died 13th July, 1858.—R. M., A.
DEMME, Hermann Christoph Gottfried, a distinguished German popular writer, was born at Mühlhausen, 7th September, 1760. In 1801 he was called to the high office of superintendent-general at Altenburg, which he honourably filled till his death on the 26th December, 1822. Under the nom de plume of Karl Stille, he wrote a number of popular and religious works, which, according to Wieland, are imbued with the true Socratic spirit. We quote—"Pächter Martin und sein Vater;" "Abendstunden im Kreise gebildeter und guter Menschen;" and "Predigten für häusliche Andacht."—K. E.
DEMOCEDES, a celebrated physician of Crotona, who lived in the sixth century b.c. After wandering from city to city in the practice of his profession, he was seized by the Persian governor of Sardis and carried prisoner to the court of Darius, where he acquired great riches and reputation, having been fortunate enough to cure the king's foot and the breast of the queen, Atossa. But he had a strong desire to return to his native country, and for this end employed a stratagem which was completely successful. He is said by Suidas to have written a work on medicine.—R. M., A.
DEMOCHARES, an Athenian patriot, and son of Demosthenes' sister. After his uncle's death he was one of the chief supporters of the anti-Macedonian party. He fortified Athens at the beginning of the war of 297-294 b.c., and during that stormy period was sent as ambassador to several princes and
